AN: HI guys, thanks for the reviews! Thanks so much! I mean it! This chapter might be longer then most I'm not sure (hasn't been keeping up with chapters' length) but for you old readers I added in a new part that I thought would fit well. I hope so anyway! If it doesn't I can always delete it later. I just thought since you are nice enough to read it all again, that I'd add something new just for you!
Sugar High: sweat drops. Either you read it wrong or I made a horrible typo. Maybe you read it wrong, or maybe I wrote it wrong, I'm not sure. But Sayo isn't a dog. She's a little girl, k? Maybe it had 'dog' somewhere near her name. I tend to use it as another word for Roy or Riza. I get sick of just typing names or 'he' and 'she' over and over again. So I put 'dog' sometimes. You know, as in 'dog of the military'. Merr... that could be a reason for the fast updating. This was already written. But as I recall, last time I wrote it I updated everyday or almost everyday. Right? Glances over at old readers. Lol, I liked your assassin thing; that was funny.
The Way to a Man's Heart Isn't by Crushing His Ego Chapter 35: Promises and the Nightmares Left Behind Them
"Damn," Jackal cursed when he awoke a few minutes later to see Shadow looking down at him.
"They got away," Shadow informed him, his tone serious and stern. His yellow eyes flashed like a cat's in the lightening.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Hell's Fire continued to scream as she pulled on Kiro. Her voice held the slight evidence of becoming hoarse from shouting.
Shadow glanced over and watched her from across the room. Lex and Ice watched as well. Ice was beginning to turn rather pale. He was having a heck of a time stopping the bleeding from the gunshot wound in his arm. He managed to slow the bleeding, but the flow didn't stop. Grimm still struggled with her katana. The blade flashed as she twisted it back and forth, the sharp edge was beginning to eat away at the old wood. The weapon was beginning to pry itself loose.
Kiro hissed furiously as she attacked the teen. "Mwu?" she said when her red eyes looked up and saw her friends had all gone. "MWUUU!" she shouted as she released Hell's Fire's skull and jumped off the girl's tense body, bounding across the dark room and out a hole in the far wall, running off in the same direction the military dogs had gone.
"Ow…" Hell's Fire sneered as she dropped down to her knees, tears in her fire-like eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. She was a gangster, not a weak little girl. She clenched her eyes shut, her body still tight and shaking from the shock. Her hands rubbed her scalp, several black stands of hair slipping between her fingers. On her pale skin you could see blood which had come seeping up from her scratch wounds. The thick, hot, sticky, red liquid shown plainly smeared on her fingers, while several lines of it ran down the sides of her face. She cursed again as she regained herself and wiped the blood off her face with her arm. She then turned and glared in the direction Roy and the others had run off in.
Jackal scoffed and growled as he sat up. The thick layer dust began to fall off his chest and onto his pants as he forced himself up. The thin layer of dust remained, clinging to the black leather of his jacket.
"Nya…" a faint meow was heard behind him.
Jackal gained a slight confused expression and looked behind him, hate in his grey eyes. He saw Kiari sitting a few feet behind him, cleaning her fur with her rough tongue, and whining that she couldn't get the thick dust out of her coat.
She looked up at Jackal when she heard him snarl, curiosity in her keen cat eyes.
"You…" he hissed angrily. The lightening flashed along with Kiari's piercing eyes. From the corner of his eye came another flash of light. His attention quickly went to it. He saw one of Shadow's sais lying by Vis, who still weren't in the mood to get up. He smirked as he crawled over to the fork-like weapon. He picked it up by the long blade in the middle, careful not to cut his fingers on the sharp edge, and then he threw it in the air, it twirled around and came back down, then caught it by the handle. Jackal glanced back at Kiari. The little cat had gone back to cleaning herself.
"What are you doing?" Shadow asked when he saw Jackal had one of his weapons.
"I'm going to rid the world of this reached beast," he snapped as he walked back over to the unsuspecting creature. "I hate cats…" he said aloud and raised the sai high over Kiari's head. The cat didn't seem to notice, either that, or she didn't know it was a threat.
Grimm's attention snapped to Shadow and the hole when she heard the 'I hate cats' remark.
"Don't use my sai! You'll get blood all over it. I don't want the blood of a cat to stain the silver metal when the blades should be tainted with human blood!" the foreign teen snapped. His face became enraged when he saw what Jackal was going to do.
He better not. Grimm jeered when she realized Jackal was going to slash Kiari into little bits. Her whole body had a tingling sensation. She growled as she pulled on the blade. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, giving her a boost of energy. She pulled back furiously and the thunder roared angrily as the blade exploded from its wooden prison.
"Don't worry," Jackal said as he stared at Kiari, "I've heard they tend to favor cats in hell," he flashed an evil grin as he brought the sai down hard and fast.
"STOP!" he heard Grimm's voice bellow through the entire building. The tone in her voice held more hate then ever before.
Jackal looked up just in time to see Grimm jump down the hole and land in front of him.
Ouch, I didn't think it was that deep. She cursed. Her feet had hit the concrete floor of the basement hard, causing great pain to appear in her ankles and radiate throughout her entire body. She clenched her jaws as the sharp pain kept shooting up her spine.
Damn. She sneered again, but the pain refused to stop. She saw Jackal turn back to Kiari. He was ignoring her orders completely. Her rage went up about five notches on the scale and her glare even more so. Forgetting about the sever pain she dashed toward Jackal. "I SAID HAULT!" she snapped and brought her blade forward at a fast pace.
Jackal snarled with surprise. He stopped dead in his tracks as a bead of sweat came traveling down his forehead. His body didn't move an inch, but his gray eyes looked down. Grimm's face was mere inches below his. 'The look' was worse then normal, much worse. Her icy-blue eyes were enraged, like the storm inside her heart was enough to freeze hell over. Another bead of sweat traveled down his brow. He could feel the cold steel of Grimm's katana pressed against the flesh of his throat. Small trickles of blood came out from under the blade.
"If you hurt that cat," Grimm said her voice was cold and dead serious, "Then I'll cut your head off."
Jackal's face became displeased, but seeing no other alterative to his predicament. He lowered the sai reluctantly.
"Master," Reina whined as they ran through the storm. Her small thin arms were folded over her chest and she was hunched over a bit, trying to keep the cold water droplets off her face, "its cold."
Roy didn't reply, he just ran. Sayo was enclosed tightly in his arms. He was trying to do two things. Number one, was keep Sayo warm and dry, second was probably the bigger concern, stop the bleeding.
"Master…." she whined again. The rain water slid down her dark brown hair, making it an even darker shade and her pigtails felt heavy as they pulled a little on her scalp. It irritated her a bit. It was the one time when she remembered she had pigtails.
"Stop complaining!" Kenny snapped, "It's only a little rain."
"Rain?" Reina asked, like the word 'rain' had jogged her memory and a scary secret that had just popped out in the open.
"Where are we going?" Jazz asked as she clung to Riza, trying to keep warm.
"Somewhere safe," the Lieutenant replied as they jogged through the rain.
"Where's that?" Jazz asked as she looked up at Riza, then back down at the ground so she wouldn't trip. The sand was also a dark color, and it felt thick under her bare feet and between her toes as the thousands upon thousands of tiny particles soaked up all the water.
"Where ever the Lieutenant Colonel goes," Riza replied. This remark was a mix of two emotions. One was the fact she knew Roy would find a safe spot. The other was the feeling that Roy would protect her- uh… them if needed.
"Oh…" Jazz said quietly as her brown eyes locked on Roy. She wasn't too sure what to make of Riza's response, but she said something about going with 'the daddy', who believed he was the master of something she had yet to discover. So she was going to watch him like a hawk.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Reina's blood curdling scream cut through the storm as she stopped frantically and hopped around on her tip toes, a very distressed look on her face.
"What is it?" Roy asked as he turned around suddenly, thinking she had seen a gangster, or worse, been hit by one.
"What's wrong?" Riza asked as she and Jazz quickened their pace and now stood just a few feet behind Reina. Riza panted in and out heavily, the hot breath being forced out of her nostrils and mouth could be seen in the chilly air. One arm covered the wound on her stomach. It was only a scratch, the bleeding had already stopped, but that didn't mean it didn't sting. Normally this little jog wouldn't faze her at all, but at that time-of-the-month she really wasn't in the mood for lots of exercise, and it made her cramps worse.
"Are you alright, Lieutenant?" Roy asked when he noticed Riza looked rather pale. Then his eyes diverted themselves to the wound on her stomach. He still held Sayo tight in his arms. He could feel her breathing in and out slowly. He looked over his Second Lieutenant, and saw that the navy blue fabric of Riza's uniform was dark around the wound, it was soaked with blood. The water that was also soaking her uniform made the wound appear worse then it really was. He walked over to her, about to examine it when her stern voice cut in.
"Yes, I'm fine, sir," she replied, trying to keep her voice strong, but failing miserably as the deep breathing spaced her words, and the pain made it crack.
Reina continued to hop around beside them. Her brown eyes were frantically darting across the sand.
"Would you stop that?" Tommy asked Reina in a rude tone. His brown eyes glared at her evilly as the water dripped of his blonde bangs. "I'm getting soaked, and it's cold out here!"
"What's the matter?" Roy asked again as he looked back at Reina.
"IT'S... RAINING!" Reina shrieked with great terror in her voice.
"Yes, and?" Riza asked not too sure as to what Reina was really getting at.
"Worms come out in the rain! I hate worms!" Reina said as she continued to hop around. She was scared to death that a worm would pop out of the sand under her feet. She knew worms came out in the rain. "They're so slimy, and long, and squishy! I hate them! They're gross!"
"Uh?" Riza looked at her superior in confusion.
Roy just gave a little sigh, showing he didn't know what to do either, and this was a stupid reason to be stopping. "Come on," he said when he looked from Reina and back to the pathway in front of them. "We need to find a safe dry spot."
"Yes, sir," Riza replied with a nod. Her stern tone returned when she caught her breath.
Then Roy took off running again.
"NO! WORMS! DON'T! MOVE!" Reina shouted.
Riza flashed an irritated look. She wasn't in the mood for nonsense. But she held in her emotions and picked up the scampering little girl. She flinched a little as Reina's weight pressed on her stomach wound, but she followed her commanding officer at a quick pace.
They ran for a few minutes. Roy looked in and around the buildings as they ran passed them. "In here," he said after he found one he thought was suitable. It wasn't the best place. He was sure he could have found something better, but they really didn't have the time to look at all the buildings.
He quickly ran in through the door… or where the door used to be, followed by the pounding feet of Kenny, Tommy, and Blare. After a few seconds Riza ran in, Reina in her arms and Jazz still clinging to her leg.
Riza looked around the room a little bit. It was very big. There were windows lined across all the walls except for the one they had just come in through. It held a door at one time, but the wall was bare and held no evidence of windows ever abiding in it. All the windows were covered with boards; they appeared to have been placed better then on the pervious building. This building was in better shape then the rest. The floor wasn't as weak and it was the walls were covered better, keeping out lots of the storm. It did creak from the blowing wind, but it didn't sway back and forth like many of the others did.
Riza's attention was quickly taken off her surroundings when she heard the sound of Sayo gasping and coughing. She immediately looked over toward Roy. He was a few feet away, kneeling on the floor. Sayo was lying on the floor in front of him. Riza hadn't noticed it, but Jazz had left her side and was now beside Roy, kneeling as well, tears streaming down her face as she watched Roy rip open Sayo's black shirt so he could get a better view of the wound. He didn't rip it off completely, just open enough he could see the area around the wound.
"How is she?" Riza asked as she walked over toward them. She set Reina down on the floor. Reina quickly ran to the opening of the building.
"Hah ha, icky worms can't get me now! Na!" She said as she stuck out her tongue, teasing the pouring rain and outside elements.
"Not good," He replied as he pressed hard on Sayo's upper abdomen. He was a lot stronger then Riza, so he was succeeding in stopping the bleeding. "She's lost a lot of blood. She's very cold and weak because of it."
"I see," Riza replied. She had already known that, but didn't feel like starting a fight with Roy over it, not with what all was going on.
"All our medical supplies are still outside in our suitcases. We don't have anything here, and I can't see the wound in the dark. This whole thing is crazy," Roy said as he pulled out his pocket knife. He was going to cut open the wound a little, and try to dig out the bullet. It was suicidal to do it in the dark, but he didn't have any other choice.
"Crazy?" Reina asked as she looked back at them. The kids being as young as they were didn't really understand what was going on. They'd all gotten bumps and bruises before, seeing blood wasn't uncommon to them. They didn't realize this time someone was really hurt. An evil grin appeared on Reina's face as she began rambling like little kids often do to annoy the people around them. "Crazy? I was crazy once. They put me in a rubber room. They said I'd be there till the day I die. Die? I don't want to die. Worms eat you when you die. Worms? Eww I don't like worms. Worms make you crazy. Crazy? I was crazy once. They put me in a rubber room. They said I'd be there till the day I die. Die? I don't want to die. Worms eat you when you die. Worms? Eww I don't like worms. Worms make you crazy. Crazy? I was crazy once. They put me in a rubber room. They said I'd be there till the day I die. Die? I don't want to die. Worms eat you when you die. Worms? Eww I don't like worms. Worms make you crazy. Crazy? I was crazy once. They put me in a rubber room. They said I'd be there till the day I die. Die? I don't want to die. Worms eat you when you die. Worms? Eww I don't like worms. Worms make you crazy. Crazy? I was crazy once-"
"Would you cut that out?" Kenny snapped irritatedly as he glared at Reina. He was standing a few feet away from Sayo. Blare and Tommy stood a little ways behind the golden-eyed boy.
Sayo flinched as the mind-numbing pain from the insertion of the knife brought her back to concisions-ness. She opened her lime green eyes sleepily and saw Roy leaning over her. She could see Riza standing over his shoulder, watching him work, close by incase he needed something or to help if she started bleeding again.
Her eyes were glazed over with a thick coat of tears as the salty water slid down the sides of her face. She lifted her head slowly and tried to focus her eyes on what was hurting her. It took her a few moments for her blurry vision to take in what was happening. All she could make out was the blood, the handle of the pocket knife, and the white of Roy's gloves, the fingers were stained with red blood. "What… are you… doing?" she asked. Her mind wasn't registering anything that was going on in her weak state. Her eyes only part way open, too weak to open all the way. She was using all her strength to hold her head up.
Roy glanced up when he heard Sayo's voice, it was no more then a whisper. He saw the small girl's eyes. They were a dull color, not the piercing green they once where. She had a tired and painfully confused look on her face. "Lieutenant," he said his voice not changing from its cool tone.
"Yes?" Riza asked.
"Do something to keep her mind off this," he instructed quietly as he looked back at the knife in his hands.
"Yes, sir," she replied as she walked around Roy and beside Sayo. She knelt down in front of her, sitting on her knees. "Come here, Sayo," she cooed quietly as she gently lifted the girl up. "I'm moving her," she informed Roy. He nodded in reply and stopped working. Then Riza pulled Sayo toward her body, resting the little girl's tired head on her lap. "Is that better?" she asked.
Sayo's eyes were closed; all she managed was a whisper. "It's cold, and it hurts."
"I know," Riza replied, unsure of what she should tell a child.
Reina, Kenny, Blare, and Tommy stood quietly, out of the way. Jazz still sat beside Roy, too stunned to say anything, tears continuing to flow down her cheeks.
Sayo opened her eyes again. "You know… what?"
"What?" Riza asked. Her voice was quiet and gentle, trying to keep Sayo calm.
"This happened once… before…" she replied sleepily, her eyes wanted to roll back into her head, but the small girl forced them to remain open. Her breathing got shallower as the seconds ticked by. Her voice was raspy and her words were spaced by gasps for breath.
"Really?" Riza asked. She was keeping the conversation going, doing everything in her power to keep Sayo's mind off Roy.
"Yeah…" she said as she remembered things from her past. "To my… family. I didn't always… live here… I lived in the city… one day... there was lots of screaming and… loud noises… there were lots of people… running through the street. People… that looked… like you," she said as her eyes traced Riza's uniform. "My mom yelled… for us to get in the… house. I did... but before I could… I heard my bother scream... I turned around and I saw him… lying on the ground… blood all around him… I tried to get back to him. But my dad came out and… grabbed me. That night my mom told…. me that my brother wasn't coming back... anymore. She said he was killed… by the military's guns. Then a few days later… my mom found my…. dad in our bathroom... she said he was hanging from a rope… I asked what he did… she said he was sad that my brother died… and wanted to be with him…" Sayo continued as a tears slid down her face. "Then… a few months later... my mom and I came here... I dunno why… We lived here for a little while… then… she died, too. Jazz's dad shot her… I sat with her for along time... she was lying in the street. She told me… that she was leaving soon, and I'd be alone. But she made… me promise I wouldn't be scared. I told her… I wouldn't, but I guess I lied… I was always scared… But I don't really feel bad about it... 'cause I kept the other promise."
"What was that?" Riza asked as she listened to the little girl's story. She had noticed the farther Sayo got into her story, the slower and more slurred her voice became. Her eyes got duller and duller as the blood trickled out of her wound. Her breathing got slower, but Roy kept working.
"After my… dad died. Every night… she made me promise…. that I wouldn't do like he… did. Just leave… like that. No matter what… happened I couldn't… give up… Because one day… I would grow up... and I wouldn't be sad…. anymore. One night…. I asked her… why…. he did… what …he did? Wondering maybe… he did it… for some… other reason, not… just for… my brother. She said… she didn't know... then she… sung me… a sad song... She said… whenever I feel sad… to sing the song. It had lots of… questions in it... and it would make… me question myself… and not do what… he did… I can't remember… it all... but I remember a…. part of it…" Sayo said as her voice got quieter, her words cracked and she spoke and more tears slid down her cheeks as she began singing. Her voice was way off key, but no one cared. She smiled as she sang, remembering how her mother had sung it to her when she was still alive.
"How do….you get that… lonely?
…How do you…. hurt that… bad?...
…To make you…. make the call,
That… having no life… at all,
Is better then… the life that you had?
…How do you feel… so empty?
You want to let it all go?...
How… do you get that… lonely…
And no… body know?"
Riza watched Sayo quietly, not sure of what to say. Then her amber eyes widened as a vision returned to her mind. I knew I had seen those eyes before. She thought as she stared down at Sayo. A sad and stunned expression appeared on the Lieutenant's face
"You know… what?" Sayo whispered as she coughed, chocking as the blood rushed into her lung.
"What?" Riza asked.
"I'm not scared… of you anymore…" she replied with a small weak. "I was at first… I remembered you… from my brother… but now… I'm not scared anymore…"
"I'm glad," Riza replied.
"Me too…" Sayo said as she fell sleep.
Once Sayo didn't say anything for a minute Jazz pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She began crying silently as she buried her face in the fabric of her tan dress.
Roy worked a few minutes more, then stopped when he felt all the warmth leave Sayo's skin. He quickly grabbed her wrist, trying to find a pulse. He found nothing. He laid Sayo's hand back down then looked up at Riza. He saw the sad expression on her face. He was pretty sure he knew what her answer would be but he felt he had to ask. "Is something wrong, Lieutenant?"
Riza didn't bother to look up at him, she stared down at Sayo. "I knew I had seen her eyes before," she replied. Her voice still stern, but Roy could sense a hint of sadness, ok, there was a little more then a hint, but he wouldn't let Riza know that.
"Oh?" he asked.
"I was there when her brother got shot. I saw the whole thing. We raided the village for some stupid rumor that turned out to be false. I didn't shoot him, but I saw who did. I don't know why, but I remembered how his eyes widened when the bullet lodged itself in his back. I saw Sayo's father grab her and pull her into the house. The next day, some horses were pulling a cart around. Soldiers were throwing the bodies of the dead on the cart. There were piles upon piles on the wooden board with wheels. They even had to stop and unload some because the horses couldn't pull all the weight. They just left the discarded ones laying, rotting in the street. I saw them drag her father out of her house. His wife stood crying at the door as he was taken away and set ablaze. Even after my abilities were no longer in use I was ordered to stay there. I even made friends with some of the villagers. When we confirmed it was only a rumor we were allowed to treat the wounded. It's hard to believe how children can be. They believe so firmly in promises, even if the whole world knows it's garbage."
"What did he say to you?" Roy asked, knowing this was something Riza needed to say. He found it strange that she'd just open up to him. She seemed like an unbreakable wall before, but now she was just spilling everything that was on her mind.
"He was lying on the street, bleeding when I approached him. He was only three or four years old. He had minor injuries. They could have been treated and he could have been saved if we were permitted to help before. But by the time the order came out it was too late. His wounds were all infected. His flesh black, death eating away at his small body. He looked up at me with hopeful blue eyes. I asked him if he needed anything, anything at all, and even though he was in server pain and by that time bleeding badly. All he wanted was a simple answer, hope and reassurance. The people there had a god and a religion as most nations do. His god was one of many promises. He asked that when he died, if he would go to a type of paradise and see his mother again. Not being from that area I naturally had no idea what the boy's beliefs were or what their god was even called. I was about to ask someone else, just to see if I could get any information for the boy. But as I was turning to leave he answered the question himself. He said, "wait, it's a promise, right? If it's a promise then it must be true, and I must be able to see my mother again. I have too, it was a promise. They told me so," he continued on, going on and on about how promises were true and meant to be kept. I stayed with him all day and all night, offering him water and food. He refused to take it. Then the next morning I was called away to investigate a suspicious object on the other side of the town. He made me promise to come back after I had finished. So I could talk with him some more. I promised and left. The 'object' turned out to be a simple gift wrapped in a brown paper bag, dropped when its owner was shot and killed. I hurried back to the spot where I had left the boy, but when I got there he was gone. I asked everyone I could find. Then I turned and saw him on one of the carts pulled by the horses. The solider in charge of the chart said the boy had died just a few hours before, but not to worry. He said the boy was smiling through it all, just waiting for his friend's return. Lieutenant Colonel, I have killed people before, but for some odd reason those images seemed to bother me. I never found out why."
"I see," Roy replied as he glanced down at Sayo, his face still calm as it usually was. He knew what this felt like. He too was forced to kill under the State. "Believe it or not, I know how it feels to not have the answers. I was in a war too, you know?"
"Sir?" she asked as she looked at her superior. She expected to see a smirk on his face. Something that simulated a sense of pride. She had heard he was one of the heroes off Ishbal. She was very surprised to see a remorseful expression as he went back into his own memories. The many memories people told him he should be proud of.
How can someone be so proud as to say their mind is pledged with nothing but blood and gore? He wondered to himself.
"Are you alright, sir?" Riza asked after he was silent for a few minutes. She watched as his face became more and more discouraged, and his eyes gained more scornful hate and rage.
"When I was in Ishbal I met and killed many people. I have stories that I should be proud to tell, but never do. Some of them stand out to me as much as they do to you. I had cornered one man in a building one morning. He was wounded and unarmed, normally I would have just taking him in as a prisoner, but we were under orders to annihilate everyone in the immediate area. I was going to make it as quick and painless as I could. I ready myself and was about to use my flame on him when his eyes suddenly overpowered me. "The crimson eyes of a lonely old man" he said. Then he did as your boy and asked me a question that most people would think to be simple, but was not anything of the sort. I halted my attack long enough to let the old man speak. I told him I wasn't certain I could give him an answer and after that'd I'd have to take his life. He just leaned against the wall and stared at the decaying ceiling. Then he told me how he had no family, and they had all died out when he was a young boy. That was all over 50 years ago. He never married nor had any children. Then he asked me his simple question." Roy said, trailing off as the images replayed in his mind.
"Sir?" Riza asked again when he fell silent, unsure if he was going to answer her.
"He asked me, "If you haven't seen your loved ones in along time, and you have changed in appearance. Would they recognize you on the other side? Or were you to be alone in death as well?" Like you, Lieutenant, I had no idea on how to reply to this man. I had never thought about something such as that."
"What did you say?" Riza asked. Jazz still crying next to them.
"Nothing…" Roy replied, "I didn't have a chance to say anything at all. General Gran, a Colonel at that time, came barreling in and ordered me to kill the old man, and I did."
"What did you do?" Kenny asked as he had gotten in on the war story.
"Didn't take it personally," was all he could think to say, "When you're under orders you have to do what you don't want too. Don't let it faze you or you won't get anywhere. The guilt will eat you alive until you are nothing more then a mindless shell, lost in the battlefield of your own mind."
"Yes, sir," she replied knowing Roy was right.
They sat quietly for a few minutes. Jazz had begun crying into Roy's chest. Reina began crying as well. Kenny stood by her side, trying to comfort her. Blare and Tommy just sat quietly, unsure of what to say or do.
Riza stared down at Sayo. The only noises that registered in her mind were the rain outside and the sound of Jazz and Reina's cries. After a few more minutes she regained her composer and lifted Sayo's small head off her lap. "What do you want to do with her, sir?" she asked as her amber eyes fell on Roy. One of his arms was wrapped around Jazz's thin form, holding the sobbing girl to his soaked form.
Roy's gaze went from Jazz to Riza. His face was calm, but his eyes held much sadness. He was about to say something when they heard a noise outside.
The military dogs' attention quickly snapped to the front of the building.
"They're in here!" they heard a familiar voice call.
"Is that Vis?" Reina asked with a sniff as she looked toward the door. She wiped some of the tears off her cheeks with the back of her hand.
Roy's and Riza's eyes immediately widened and they quickly stood up. Jazz fell back as Roy shot up, but she didn't care. The small girl was to upset to notice.
"Hello again," they heard Jackal's cold voice. "Did you enjoy the little field trip?" he smirked as he walked into view. He stood in the doorway, only his form was visible in the dark. All the details of his body were hidden in the blackness.
Roy growled and sneered as he grabbed his wrist. He was going to use his alchemy. Just then the thunder boomed, reminding him of the damp air. He cursed himself as he stared at Jackal. Grimm, Hell's Fire, Shadow, and Lex appeared behind him. He couldn't see Saff anywhere. She's probably still in the other building reading. He thought as a bead of sweat traveled down his brow. He got a little nervous when he saw the bodies of many other gangsters appear behind the gang leaders.
"What do want to do, sir?" Riza asked.
Roy looked to his side. He saw Reina clinging to Riza's pant leg, crying. Jazz was at Sayo's side, still sobbing. Kenny and the other two boys stood behind them nervously.
"Sir?" Riza asked again, her legs pushed her boots hard against the floor. Her body was in firing position as her silver pistol flashed in the lightening.
"Isn't it obvious?" Roy replied as he looked back at the gangsters. He could make out an evil grin on Jackal's face.
"I think it's time we got this party started," Jackal said coldly and pulled out his gun, ready to fire at any moment. Just then the gangsters that had weapons pulled out theirs as well. Some aimed for Roy, others aimed for Riza.
AN: Ok, guys, what did you think? Poor Sayo, it's all so sad. Yes, the song Sayo was referring to is in fact a real song. It's called "How do You Get that Lonely" by Blaine Larsen. Great song.